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Background: The effectiveness of the immunity provided by SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is an important public health issue. We analyzed the determinants of 12-month serology in a multicenter European cohort of vaccinated healthcare workers (HCW). Methods: We analyzed the sociodemographic characteristics and levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies (IgG) in a cohort of 16,101 vaccinated HCW from eleven centers in Germany, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. Considering the skewness of the distribution, the serological levels were transformed using log or cubic standardization and normalized by dividing them by center-specific standard errors. We fitted center-specific multivariate regression models to estimate the cohort-specific relative risks (RR) of an increase of one standard deviation of log or cubic antibody level and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for different factors and combined them in random-effects meta-analyses. Results: We included 16,101 HCW in the analysis. A high antibody level was positively associated with age (RR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.00–1.08 per 10-year increase), previous infection (RR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.29–2.45) and use of Spikevax [Moderna] with combinations compared to Comirnaty [BioNTech/Pfizer] (RR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.97–1.19) and was negatively associated with the time since last vaccine (RR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.91–0.98 per 30-day increase). Conclusions: These results provide insight about vaccine-induced immunity to SARS-CoV-2, an analysis of its determinants and quantification of the antibody decay trend with time since vaccination.

Background: The research aimed to investigate the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections and their determinants in a large European cohort of more than 60,000 health workers. Methods: A multicentric retrospective cohort study, involving 12 European centers, was carried out within the ORCHESTRA project, collecting data up to 18 November 2021 on fully vaccinated health workers. The cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections was investigated with its association with occupational and social–demographic characteristics (age, sex, job title, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, antibody titer levels, and time from the vaccination course completion). Results: Among 64,172 health workers from 12 European health centers, 797 breakthrough infections were observed (cumulative incidence of 1.2%). The primary analysis using individual data on 8 out of 12 centers showed that age and previous infection significantly modified breakthrough infection rates. In the meta-analysis of aggregated data from all centers, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and the standardized antibody titer were inversely related to the risk of breakthrough infection (p = 0.008 and p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusion: The inverse correlation of antibody titer with the risk of breakthrough infection supports the evidence that vaccination plays a primary role in infection prevention, especially in health workers. Cellular immunity, previous clinical conditions, and vaccination timing should be further investigated.

Particulate air pollution is known to be associated with cardiovascular disease. The relation of particulate air pollution with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) has not been extensively studied, particularly in relation to different subtypes of stroke. A time-series study was conducted to evaluate the association between daily air pollution and acute stroke unit hospitalizations in Mantua, Italy. We analyzed 781 CVD consecutive patients living in Mantua county admitted between 2006-08. Data on stroke types, demographic variables, risk factors were available from the Lombardia Stroke Registry. Daily mean value of particulate matter with a diameter

Particulate air pollution is known to be associated with cardiovascular disease. The relation of particulate air pollution with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) has not been extensively studied, particularly in relation to different subtypes of stroke. A time-series study was conducted to evaluate the association between daily air pollution and acute stroke unit hospitalizations in Mantua county (Italy). We analyzed 781 CVD consecutive patients living in Mantua county admitted between 2006-08. Data on stroke types, demographic variables, risk factors were available from the Lombardia Stroke Registry. Daily mean value of particulate matter with a diameter < 10 μm (PM10), carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, benzene and ozone were used in the analysis. The association between CVD, ischemic strokes subtypes and pollutants was investigated with a casecrossover design, using conditional logistic regression analysis, adjusting for temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and holidays. Among the 781 subjects admitted 75.7% had ischemic stroke, 11.7% haemorrhagic stroke 12.6% transient ischemic attack. In men admission for stroke was associated with PM10 (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02, p